SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test/ SAT-I) is a prerequisite Reasoning Test
conducted for the admissions of undergraduate programs in United States. It is a
3 hour test that determines the proficiency of the students in verbal, mathematical
and reasoning skills that are required to evaluate the skills needed to complete
the academic successfully. The test is administered several times a year. Many universities
also require SAT-II test score along with the SAT-I score for admission. Every year
around 2 million students take SAT. Many colleges and universities finds SAT as
a more credible test for predicting the student’s competence. The test scores
are valid up to 5 years of the test date.

Test Modules in SAT
Typically, SAT reasoning test are categorized into three major sections, Critical
Reading, Writing and Mathematics, with a total of 10 sub-sections including a dummy
section. These sections are discussed below:

Critical Reading
SAT exam begins with Critical reading questions that determine various reading comprehension
skills. It includes two 25-minute sections and one 20-minute section with 48 reading
comprehension questions and 19 sentence completion questions. The scores are scaled
on a 200-800 point scale with the total time limit of 70 minutes. This module consists
of the following subsections:

•

Sentence Completion: It measures the vocabulary of the applicants
and understanding the sentence structure i.e., how the different parts of a sentence
fit logically together. Here each sentence has one or two blank space which has
to be filled correctly with the given multiple choices

•

Passage-based Reading: This section comprises of two types of passage
reading, Vocabulary in Context and Literal Comprehension. It measures the reading
abilities of the students and thinking carefully about different passages ranging
from 100 to 850 words approximately. These passages will be extracted from a variety
of fields like, humanities, social studies, natural sciences, and literary fiction

Writing Section
The writing section of SAT is based on the old SAT-II subject test in writing. The
total time limit of writing section is 60 minutes. It includes multiple choice questions
and a brief essay. The essay score accounts to be around 30% of the writing score
and the multiple choice component accounts to be around 70%.
The multiple choice questions include, Error Identification, Sentence Improvement
questions that tests for grammar knowledge and Paragraph Improvement questions that
test for student’s understanding of logical organization of ideas.
The essay section is administered as the first part of the test, which has 25 minutes
of time limit. They have to be written in response to the specified prompt, which
are typically philosophical and are designed to be accessible to students despite
of their educational and social backgrounds.

Mathematics Section
This section is also known as Quantitative Section determines important skills like,
estimation and number sense using multiple choice questions and student response
questions. Mathematics section includes topics like, exponential growth, absolute
value, and functional notation. It consisting of three scored sections:

Another 25-minute section - It contains 8 multiple choice (problem solving) questions
and 10 grid-in questions, within the time limit of 25 minutes

•

A shorter section of 16 multiple choice (problem solving) questions to be completed
in 20 minutes of time

In addition there will be a dummy section formally called as Variable or Equation
section with the time limitation of 20 minutes. However this section does not count
towards the individual score and they cannot be recognized in the test so as to
not skipping those questions. They are only used for the future edition of SAT

The three parts of SAT are scored separately as reading score, a writing score,
and a math score that range from 200 to 800 each. The average score of each section
will be about 500. This average score is acceptable by almost all the colleges and
universities. Yet few top colleges/universities expect for above average SAT scores
of above 2100, which would puts in the 90 percentile.

A good SAT score will certainly increase your chances of secure admission in better
colleges/universities. Your SAT subject score is measured on a scale of 200 to 800.
Usually a SAT score of about 500 in every section (Mathematics, Writing and Critical
Reading) is considered as a good score to get admission in good colleges/universities.

Below table gives the requirements of SAT score for some popular colleges

College

SAT Math

SAT Critical Reading

SAT Writing

Auburn (Main Campus)

520 - 630

500 - 610

510 - 620

Carleton

660 - 740

670 - 750

640 - 740

Duke

690 - 790

690 - 770

680 - 780

Harvard

700 - 790

690 - 800

690 - 780

Middlebury

640 - 740

630 - 740

630 - 740

Pomona

680 - 760

690 - 760

680 - 760

Stanford

680 - 780

660 - 760

670 - 770

UCLA

610 - 720

570 - 680

580 - 690

MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

720 - 800

660 - 760

660 - 750

With this Information, you will be able to analyze the requirement of SAT score
in your preferred colleges. Good SAT score even helps in seeking scholarships and
financial aids for the entire study program